Current practice in the field for the detection of very low concentrations of threatening CBRNE surface contaminants is to sweep the target surface with a special cloth known to be free of all CBRNE traces. Once the targeted surface has been swept, the cloth is placed in a sealed container for subsequent (bio-) chemistry analysis. Only one surface is swept with a given cloth to avoid dilution of the sample material. The (bio-) chemistry procedures for a given sample may take several minutes up to several days depending on the complexity of the analysis process. These (bio-) chemistry procedures have the advantage of providing various depth of information (usually correlated with the time and complexity of the executed procedure) on the sampled material that can be tailored to the objectives of the CBRNE contamination survey (presumptive detection up to forensic investigation).
There are two major limitations associated with the physical sampling of a given surface with a dedicated cloth and a subsequent timely demanding (bio-) chemistry procedure in assessing the presence of very low concentration of CBRNE contaminants. First, investigating a CBRNE crisis event at a given location involves blindly sampling numerous surfaces for the presence of contaminants. Each sample requires a single cloth and a subsequent (bio-) chemistry procedure. In some cases where the nature of the CBRNE event is unknown, multiple (bio-) chemistry procedures may be performed from a single sample. This blind investigation requires important man-powered efforts, a sizeable equipment infrastructure and a non negligible quantity of consumables while usually only a very small fraction of the processed samples will disclose the presence of CBRNE contaminants. Second, a non-negligible delay is unavoidable between the sampling procedure and the outcomes of the (bio-) chemistry analyses. This delay may result in a delay in taking important decisions concerning the rapid initiation of efficient protection measures, the adequate delimitation of the prohibited areas and the quick selection of adequate medical countermeasures.
US patent publication no. 2012/0038908 discloses a system for detecting CNBRE hazards using fluorescence and spectroscopic imaging techniques wherein data sets generating during interrogation are compared to a reference database. However, a problem is that each specimen may contain several tens of thousands of samples acquired within a few seconds, and producing a rapid response can be a serious challenge.
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